Meet Our Board
The Water Management Board has six members. The Governor of the State of Montana, in consultation with local county commissioners, appoints two voting members. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Tribal Council appoints two voting members. The four appointed members select the fifth voting member. The Secretary of the Interior appoints a sixth, non-voting, member.
The Unitary Administration & Management Ordinance (Ordinance) directs the Board – which is a government entity. We regulate new uses of water, changes to existing uses of water, and enforce water rights. We employ a Water Engineer and other professional staff to conduct implement these operations.
Roger Noble, Chairman
Appointed by MT
Term Expires on December 31, 2029
As a Registered Professional Geologist, Mr. Noble has more than 40 years of experience in water supply, water right permitting and groundwater contaminant investigations. While possessing a broad-based knowledge regarding water-quality issues, he specialized in water supply, permitting, and groundwater remediation. Mr. Noble has worked in both the governmental (Montana DNRC and Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Hydrology Section) and private sector (CH2M Hill, Land & Water Consulting, Applied Water Consulting, and Water & Environmental Technologies). Mr. Noble specialized in groundwater supply and availability assessments for both public and private water purveyors which included the design and testing of large production wells for municipal/public water supplies, industrial, and agricultural uses. Through this experience he developed a comprehensive understanding of regulatory processes.
In addition, Mr. Noble serves on numerous boards as Chairperson for the Flathead County Board of Health, vice-chair of the Flathead County Board of Adjustments, and member of the Flathead County Solid Waste District Board. In addition, Mr. Noble also served as a member and chairperson of the Montana Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Board from 2004 to 2016. Mr. Noble’s education includes a B.S. Geology, University of Montana (1978) and M.S. Geology, Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology (1984).
George McLeod, Vice Chairman
Appointed by the Tribes
Term expires on December 31, 2027
George McLeod was raised on the Flathead Indian Reservation, and is an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. George began his career with the CS&KT immediately after graduating from Dixon High School in 1971. He started with CS&KT Forestry Development during the summer of 1971 as a seasonal forestry technician. From 1971 to 1976 he was involved in seasonal fire control, including two years as assistant Helitac Forman, and as a member of the labor union. George then spent six years as a timber cruiser in the Forestry Development Program before joining the Water Management Program in 1982. During his time with the CSKT, George obtained his Associate of Applied Science degree in Forestry from Flathead Valley Community College and Salish and Kootenai College. A 45-year employee of the Water Management Program, George currently serves as the Chief of Field Operations, where he is responsible for coordinating the work efforts of hydrographer personnel, resolving a wide range of mechanical, technical, and fieldwork problems, and reviewing stream gaging records for technical adequacy and soundness.
Ruth Swaney
Appointed by the Tribes
Term expires on December 31, 2029
Ruth Swaney (Salish) received her BA in Political Science with Emphasis in Public Administration from the University of Montana in 1985. She has worked for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes since 1984. Her positions held in the CS&K Tribes were Personnel Management Specialist (1984-2000); Project Analyst-Self Governance (2000-2006); and Policy Analyst-Self Governance (2006-2008). Since November 2008 she has served in her current position as the Tribal Budget Director concurrent with her duties in self-governance. Prior to her Tribal career, she worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, USDA-Forest Service, and the University of Montana.
She is the mother of two daughters and a son, grandmother of eight, and is a lifelong resident of the Flathead Indian Reservation. Her personal interests include learning the Salish language, beadworking, and attending powwows with her children and grandchildren.
Chris Frissell
Appointed by the Board
Term expires on March 31, 2030
Chris Frissell is Chair of the Department of Hydrology and Director of the Masters of Natural Resources Management Program at Salish Kootenai College. He was formerly Research Associate Professor at the University of Montana, and Director of Science and Conservation at the Pacific Rivers Council. He is principal scientist and founder of Frissell & Raven Hydrobiological and Landscape Sciences, where he has provided independent research and advisory expertise to agencies, tribes, and NGOs.
He holds a BA in Zoology from the University of Montana and MS and PhD degrees in Fisheries Science form Oregon State University. His research focuses on linkages between watershed conditions and processes and freshwater ecosystems and their biota. His professional work also concerns the interface of biophysical sciences and environmental planning, policy and decision making. He holds memberships and attends meetings of the American Geophysical Union, American Fisheries Society, Society for Freshwater Science, and Society for Ecological Restoration.
Kenneth Pitt
Appointed by MT
Term Expires on December 31, 2027
Before returning to college in 1980, Ken worked in several major western national parks including Glacier. In Glacier, Ken worked as a winterkeeper at the Many Glacier Hotel, and then as a Bear Management Ranger.
Ken graduated from the University of Montana School of Forestry with a B.S in 1982 with High Honors in Wildlife Biology. He graduated from the University of Montana’s School of Law in 1985 with a Juris Doctor with Honors.
During law school he worked as a legal intern in Washington D.C. for the U.S. Justice Department’s Wildlife and Marine Resource section. After law school Ken went to work as a general attorney for the USDA-Office of General Counsel in Missoula, Montana, with his primary client agency the USDA-Forest Service.
In 1986. Ken was assigned the position of Special Assistant United States Attorney, where he was tasked with representing the Forest Service and the National Park Service before the Montana Water Court. In 1990, Ken was reassigned to the new Denver Regional Office where he assumed the role of lead regional attorney for advising the Forest Service’s four Rocky Mountain Regions on hazardous material water quality, and air quality issues.
In 2000, Ken left the hazardous material program but added the role of lead regional counsel for Forest Service law enforcement, specifically for prosecution of arson claims on the National Forests. During this time, Ken also served as a technical legal expert for the National Wildfire Coordination Group, headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Since 2011, after returning home to Montana, Ken has worked as an Associate Appellate Justice for the CSKT, taught as an Adjunct Instructor at Salish Kootenai College where he continues to teach Water Law, Environmental Law, and Natural Resource Law and Policy. Ken has also taught Water Law and Natural Resource Law and Policy as an adjunct professor at the University of Montana’s Colleges of Law and Forestry. Ken has been Chief Justice of the Crow Tribe’s Court of Appeals since 2008.
Federal Non-Voting Member
The sixth member of the Water Board is a federally appointed member. This position is currently vacant.